Where does the dividing line between netbooks and notebooks lie? Is an 11.6in screen small enough to dismiss any ideas of true notebook status? Conversely, does having a DVD rewriter lift a portable forever out of netbookdom?
Packard Bell Easynote Butterfly XS Packard Bell's Easynote Butterfly XS: flighty?
For those who want …

COMMENTS

That is a pretty good price

The real question is - does it run Linux? 2G RAM and 250G is "diet" for Windows 7. It will be aplenty for something less resource hungry. However the question is what are the real peripherals here: what ethernet, what wifi, what 3G did Packard Bell use.

Subtitle questions?

looks an ok machine.

Netbook vs Notebook

Last year I bought a Samsung NC10 netbook, widely regarded as best of breed. Windows XP starter edition was rapidly replaced with Easy Peasy Linux which worked very well, and supported all the hardware, unlike other variants of Ubuntu.

I concluded that I needed to carry it always to really benefit, something I did not wish to do. It wasn't powerful enough to do anything outside classic netbook applications, and the 1024x600 display was too small for regular apps. So I sold it.

This year I purchased a Dell 11z which has a similar spec to the review model. This runs proper Ubuntu happily. The greater power of a Celeron, and greater screen size and RAM make all the difference, and it makes an excellent general purpose laptop, with almost netbook-like portability. I expect to keep it for as long as it keeps working.

Is the 3g version available in UK anywhere

Does anybody know if the 3G version is available in UK anywhere? The Packard Bell UK website only lists the black version without 3G or Bluetooth. And Currys, Comet, Amazon etc. all list only this model. The version with 3G would be way better then without - not having to carry the extra dongle.

I don't understand why so many models of netbooks and small laptops have 3G as an option in their spec - but they are never available with 3G in the UK - only somewhere else. Some agreement with the 3G network operators of some sort?

Also, has anybody noticed that this might be the only true sublaptop at the moment out-there? I mean, in the vein of legendary Sony TT/TZ/TX series - a tiny 11 inch machine, with everything integrated (including, crucially, optical drive) - and a non-Atom processor. I couldn't find anybody else doing this at the moment. The trend to drop optical drives out of small laptops seems to have truly taken over the industry. I still prefer an optical drive as I still use it a lot - and my main machine over past 3 years - with 11 inch screen, Intel SU2500 processor and an optical drive has served me very well so far.